A big increase in the number of offices and shops
converted into flats is behind a surge in England’s housing stock, official
figures show. There were 189,650 dwellings added to the housing stock in
England between April 2015 and March 2016, up 11% on the year before, according
to CLG figures. Traditional new-build properties rose by 8,860 units to
163,940. But the most marked increase was in “change of use”, with 30,600 new
units compared with 20,650 the year before. Of these, 12,824 were offices
converted into flats. The boom is partly down to new “permitted development
rights,” which allow developers to proceed without conventional planning
permission, though critics say the result is that many units fail to meet
minimum space standards. Read more on the Guardian website.
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